Bean-sorting belt.



O. SUTTER.

BEAN SORTING BELT. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6, 1913.

1,085,179, Patented Jan. 27, 1914.

Witnesses I 6' 6 JMKU 0% 5m F9 IILSAHOPRQQSI OLE SUITER, OF ISAN'II, MINNESOTA.

BEAN-SORTING BELT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 6, 1913.

Patented Jan. 27, 1914.

Serial No. 772,193.

0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, OLE SUTTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Isanti, in the county of Isanti and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bean-Sorting Belts; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invent-ion, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to machines for sorting beans, peas, coffee, and the like, and is in the nature of an improvement on machines disclosed and claimed in my prior Patents 920,499, of date, May 4th, 1909, entitled bean sorter, and 938,521, of date, November 2nd, 1909, entitled sorting belt.

Particularly, this invention is directed to the improvement of the sorting belt and the multiplicity of pocket-s carried thereby.

The objects sought and obtained in the present improved machine are simplicity of construction, durability and a compact arrangement of the pockets on the belt, whereby the greatest possible number of pockets are assembled within a given area.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention, like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation showing a portion of the sorting belt and portions of the sprocket wheels on which the belt is arranged to run; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 1, some of the parts being broken away and some being removed; Fig. 3 is a plan view showing a portion of the belt with the parts on a larger scale than in Fig. 2; Fig. 4L is a perspective view showing in detail, one of the gravity actuated fingers constituting a drop bot-torn in one of the pockets of the belt; Fig. 5 is a detail view in bottom plan, showing one of the pocket forming elements of the belt; and Fig. 6 is a detail in section taken approximately on the line 0 -32 on Fig. 3.

The framework of the machine is not herein shown, but may be of any suitable construction, and the beans or other articles to be separated may be supplied to the pocket equipped separating belt from a suitable hopper, not shown, but such, for instance, as illustrated in my said prior patents. The separating belt of the present improved machine, is made up of a pair of laterally spaced sprocket chains 1, transverse rods 2, and pocket forming plates 3. The chains 1 run over suitable supporting and driving sprockets 4 and 5. The rods 2 are connected to the joints between the links of the chains 1, and, in fact, their ends constitute rivets or trunnions for pivotally connecting the said links. The sprockets at and 5, as shown, are secured to shafts G and 7 adapted to be journaled in the framework, not shown. The sorting belt is adapted to be moved by power applied to one or the other of the shafts (3 or 7. The so-called pocket forming plates 3 are, as shown, in the form of inverted rectangular cups, having in their fiat horizontal faces pocket forming perforations 8 of the proper size to receive one, or a pre determined number of beans. Fig. 5 shows one of the pocket forming plates, looking at the bottom of the same, and by reference particularly to this figure, it will be noted that the side flanges of the said pocket forming plates 3 project forwardly and rearwardly to form hinge lugs 3 that are offset inward from the ends or side flanges, and are pivoted on the adjacent cross rods 2 of the sorting belt. This offset arrangement of the hinge lugs 3 permits the pocket forming plates to be very closely assembled on the transverse rods. In fact, the said pocket forming plates 3 are spaced apart only sufiiciently to afford clearance for the narrow relatively heavy ends 9 of fingers 10, which latter are pivoted on the rods 2 with their projecting ends immediately underlying the corresponding pocket forming perforations 8. Thus the said fingers 10 constitute yielding bottoms to the respective receiving pockets of the sorting belt. Thus, portions of the said fingers 10 which immediately underlie the perforations 8, are preferably horizontally widened so that they form good bottoms for the respective pockets. These widened portions of the said fingers are normally held considerably below the corresponding perforations 8, so that a bean or like article which has entered the pocket, may become deeply and well seated therein. The free ends of the fingers 10 are preferably bent at 10 to afford stops engageable with the adjacent rods 2, to limit the upward movements of the said fingers. Also, preferably, the narrow weighted ends 9 of the said fingers are formed with projections 9 that are adapted to overlie the adjacent rods 2 and keep closed the space between the pocket plates 3. As best shown in Fig. e, the fingers 10, with their weighted ends 9 are integrally formed, each from a single piece of sheetmetal formed in a die or forge, the h0rizontally extended body portion of the said finger being formed from a single fold and the said weighted end, of the double fold.

When the belt is run under the open bottom of the supply hopper containing beans, for example, each pocket or perforation S will take up a bean y, substantially as shown in Fig. 6, and will carry the same forward. Good beans are carried onward by the belt and discharged at the downwardly moving portion thereof, while the black or discolored beans are discharged through the belt simply by pushing them downward with the finger through the perforation 8, and be tween the depressed finger 10 and overlying rod 2, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 6. By this improved arrangement, a very large number of beans are brought closely together and the dark or refuse beans may be very rapidly discharged through the belt. By reference to Fig. 2, it will be noted that the pocket forming plates 3 which are in adjacent transversely extended rows, are

staggered in respect to each other, so that their perforations 8 overlie the front ends of the alined fingers 10.

As is evident, this improved sorting machine may be used for sorting peas, coffee, or various other articles of larger or smaller size. Of course, the pockets of the belt will be designed for proper selection of the particular individual articles that are to be sorted.

All of the pocket forming plates 3 are m'adealike and all of the fingers 10 are made alike, and each may be very rapidly and cheaply made by the use of proper dies. Obviously, the belt constructed as described, will be very strong and long-lived.

What I claim is:

1. A sorting belt having transverse rods,

perforated pocket forming plates mounted on said rods, and fingers yieldingly mounted on said rods and constituting drop bottoms to the said pockets. 7 2. A sorting belt having transverse rods, perforated pocket forming plates mounted on said rods and gravity held fingers intermediately pivoted on said rods, and each having an end underlying a pocket forming perforation of a corresponding plate and constituting a yielding bottom thereto.

3. A sorting belt having transverse rods,

perforated pocket forming plates mounted on said rods and gravity held fingers intermediately pivoted on said rods, and each having an end underlying a pocket forming perforation of a corresponding plate and constituting a yielding bottom thereto, the said pocket forming plates being spaced apart to afiordf clearance for the weighted ends of said fingers.

4. A sorting belt having transverse rods, perforated pocket forming plates mounted on said rods and gravity held fingers intermediately pivoted on said 'rods, and each having an end underlying a pocket forming perforation of a corresponding plate and constituting a yielding bottom thereto, the said rods serving as stops to limit the up ward movements of said fingers. I I

'5. A sorting belt having transverse rods,

perforated pocket forming plates mounted on said rods and gravity held fingers intermediately pivoted on said rods, and each having an end underlying a pocket forming perforation of a corresponding plate and constituting a yielding bottom thereto, the said pocket formingplates being spaced apart to afford clearance for the weighted endsof said fingers, the said fingers, at their free ends, having pockets engageable with adjacent rods of said belt. I 6. Ina sorting belt, the combination with a pair of sprocket chains, and transverse rods connecting the same, of perforated pocket forming platesapplied onsaid rods, and fingers yieldingly mounted on said rods and constituting yielding bottoms to the pockets of said perforatedplates.

7. In a sorting belt, the combination with a air of sprocket chains and transverse ro s connecting the same, of plates having perforations forming pockets therein, said plates having perforatedlugs through which the rods are passed, and levers intermediately pivoted on said rods and having weighted ends Working between adjacent pocket forming plates, the pocket forming.

plates in adjacent transverse rows being staggered in respect to each other, so that their perforations overlie the free ends of alined levers, and the latter constitute yielding bottoms thereto.

In tesimony whereof aflixm'y signature in presence of two witnesses. V

OLE SUTTER.

Witnesses:

HARRrD. Knieoius, F. D. MERCHANT.

Cbpies of this patent in ay lie obtained for five cents each, by a'ddrssiiig the l'ltainiiiis si o iie r ti rated, Washington, D. G. 

